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33  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  NY    14580 

(716)  873-4503 


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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICIVIH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notat/Notas  tachniquas  at  bibllographiquas 


Tha  Inatituta  haa  attamptad  to  obtain  tha  baat 
original  copy  availabia  for  filmino.  Faaturaa  of  thia 
copy  which  may  ba  bibliographically  uniqua, 
which  may  altar  any  of  tha  imag^a  in  tha 
raproduction,  or  which  may  aignificantly  changa 
tha  uaual  mathod  of  filming,  ara  chackad  balow. 


D 


0 


D 


D 


Colourad  covara/ 
Couvartura  da  coulaur 


I     I   Covara  damagad/ 


Couvartura  andommag6a 


□   Covara  raatorad  and/or  laminatad/ 
Couvartura  raataurAa  at/ou  palliculAa 


r~~1   Covar  titia  miaaing/ 


La  titra  da  couvartura  manqua 

Colourad  maps/ 

Cartas  giographiquas  an  coulaur 


□   Colourad  ink  (i.e.  othar  than  blua  or  black)/ 
Encra  da  coulaur  (i.a.  autra  qua  blaua  ou  noira) 

r~n   Colourad  platas  and/or  illustrations/ 


Planchaa  at/ou  illustrations  an  coulaur 


Bound  with  othar  material/ 
RaiiA  avac  d'autres  documents 


rri    Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 


along  interior  margin/ 

La  reliure  serrAe  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 

distortion  la  long  de  la  marge  IntArieure 

Blank  iaavaa  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  tha  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajouttes 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissant  dans  la  texte, 
mais.  lorsque  cela  Atait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  AtA  filmAes. 

Additionel  comments:/ 
Commentaires  supplAmentsires: 


L'instltut  a  microf  limA  la  meilleur  exemplaira 
qu'il  lui  a  AtA  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
da  cat  exemplaira  qui  sont  paut-Atre  uniquea  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reprodulte,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  mAthode  norrnala  de  f llmaga 
aont  indiquAs  cl-dessous. 


|~~|   Coloured  pages/ 


D 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagAes 

Pages  restored  and/oi 

Pages  restaurAes  at/ou  pelliculAes 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxe( 
Pages  dAcolorAes,  tachetAes  ou  piquAes 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  dAtachAes 

Showthrough/ 
Transparence 

Quality  of  prir 

QualitA  inAgale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  materii 
Comprend  du  matAriel  supplAmentaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Adition  disponible 


I — I  Pages  damaged/ 

I — I  Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 

r~n  Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 

I     I  Pages  detached/ 

I      I  Showthrough/ 

rn  Quality  of  print  varies/ 

r~1  Includes  supplementary  material/ 

I — I  Only  edition  available/ 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  bertn  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  AtA  filmAds  A  nouveau  da  fa^on  A 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


Tl 
tc 


Tl 

P 
o 
fi 


O 
b( 

tr 

si 
oi 
fi 
si 

Of 


Tl 
si 
Tl 
w 

M 

di 
ei 
bi 

"1 
re 
m 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  filmA  eu  taux  de  rAduction  indiquA  ci-dessous 

10X                            14y                             18X                            22X 

26X 

aox 

/ 

n 

12X 

16X 

aox 

a4x 

28X 

32X 

Th«  copy  film«d  h«r«  hat  b««n  raproducad  thanks 
to  tha  ganarosity  of: 

Library  Division 

Provincial  Archives  of  British  Columbia 

Tha  imagas  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  baat  quality 
posaibia  conaidaring  tha  condition  and  lagibility 
of  tha  original  copy  and  in  kaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  apacifications. 


Original  copiat  in  prin  .4d  papar  covars  ara  filmad 
baginning  with  tha  front  covar  and  anding  on 
tha  last  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  impras- 
sion.  or  tha  back  covar  whan  appropriata.  All 
othar  original  copias  ara  filmad  baginning  on  tha 
first  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  impras- 
sion,  and  anding  on  tha  last  paga  with  a  printad 
or  illustratad  imprassion. 


Tha  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  — ^>  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


L'examplaira  film*  fut  raproduit  grAce  A  la 
gAnAroait*  da: 

Library  Division 

Provincial  Archives  of  British  Columbia 

Las  imagas  suivantas  ont  AtA  raproduitas  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin.  compta  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
da  la  nattatA  d«  I'axemplaira  filmA.  et  en 
conformitA  avec  las  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmaga. 

Las  axemplairas  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimAe  sont  filmAs  en  commenpant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
darniAre  paga  qui  comporta  una  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration.  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  las  autras  axemplairas 
originaux  sont  filmAs  en  commenpant  par  la 
pramiAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  darniAre  paga  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
derniAre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  — »•  signifie  "A  SUIVRE".  le 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc..  peuvent  Atre 
filmAs  A  des  taux  de  rAduction  diffArents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clichA.  il  est  filmA  A  partir 
de  Tangle  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droite. 
et  de  haut  en  bas.  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'fmages  nAcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  l«  mAthode. 


1 

2 

3 

1  2  3 

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Overland  Monthly 

Vol..  XXX.  (Second  Series.)       September  iSItT.      NO.   177 


V  ■•  ■  ■  •  ^  ■  > 


ALASKA  BY  LAND  AND  SEA 


I.     THH  V()V,\(iH  ANl)  THH    NATIVHS 


i;v  1,I.\('(IL.\  COTIIU.AN.  .M.  It. 


-•  -1 


the  nidrninn  <•!  .\|)ril  llHli. 
iSlC,  Isaileillnr.Ma.^kii 
to  aet  a.«;  |ihy.sieian  ami 
surfTtMin  t"  a  larjje  .sal- 
mon packinj,'  company. 
.•\ftera  not  parlieularly 
eventful  voyajte  (» f 
twenty-seven  days,  we 
.-saw  the  tirst  indications 
of  land  in  driftin^j  sea- 
I'he  remainder  of  the  .sea 

IS  de.serilted  in  the  following;  notes  from 

arv  made  at  the  time. 


Vfeds  tloatinn  hy 

,ri|. 

tili 


^'f     ■  '•■. 


.May  17lh,  11  a.  m. 

We  are  .sailinji  beautifully  this  nuirnint;. 
he  yards  square,  Itefore  a  fair  wind.  Cal- 
•niations  indicate  we  shall  si^ht  land  before 
il^^lit.  The  vessel  just  passed  a  sidendid 
.pecimen  of  the  larj^e  jjray  albatnt.ss  the 
■■ondor  of  the  seas.  Hestretclied  liisjii^fan- 
ic  win^^.s.  measuring'' ten  to  twelve  ft-et  from 
ip  to  tip.  and  l)eat  a^^ainst  llie  water  many 
inu's  before  he  was  abit-  to  rise. 

I  v.  \i. 

Wind  has  luronie  stroiii^i-r  and  we  an- 
Irawin!,^  chise  to  land.  i>r  rather  to  lui^e, 
Hirren,  and  desolate  rock-islands  ten- 
mted  only  by  wild  fowl.  Tlu-se  rocks  are 
sl.inds  situated  near  the  western  end  of  the 
\laskan  peninsula,  in  onler  to  reach  I'.er- 
nu  sea  it  is  necessary  to  pass  throujjjh  a 
•trait  only  twelve  miles  wide,  the  entrance 
o  which  is  hedf^ed  with  innumerable  rocks 
ihd  sunken   reefs,    to   strike    one   of   which 


would  mean  certain  destruction.  The  strait 
known  as  I'niniak  jiass  lies  between  ttgomak 
and  I'nimak  islamis.  Uoth  of  these  islands 
contain  live  volcanoes.  The  pa.ss  is  ren- 
dered more  dan;i;erous  because  it  is  almost 
constantly  enveloped  in  dense  fog  with  no 
warning   lignt-hou.se    nor    fog-horn.     iTwo 


OL- 


A    .XMImnAk    HKI.I.K 


'  '        ;   Copyright.  lS!t7,  by  (»VW{'..AN1»  MoNTHl.Y  I'l  iti.isiiiNi;  CitMi'ANV)     All    rights    reserved 

■  '  Brown,  Mcesr  .S:  CrB>l>l(Hk.  S   »-. 


41 9^r; 


196 


OVKKLANI)   MONTMIA' 


[naIhga, 

'CHIWACH 
TA 


hours  more  will  brinjt  us  to  the  pass.  It  is 
snowing  now  and  one  cannot  see  half  a  milt* 
away. 

.■>::{(»  1'.  M. 

The  cry  of  "Land  hoi"  made  us  rush 
from  the  dinner  tal)le  to  the  deck.  Dead 
ahead  loomed  up  a  ruf^jjed.  snow-clad  moun- 
tain ranjje,  lookinjj  spectral  and  forbiddintf 
in  the  storm  of  .><leel  rainin^j  down  uiton  us. 
Captain  Peterson  yelleii:  "Lull'  the  rudder! 
Tack  ship!"  and  as  the  great  ves.sel  slowly 
turned  ai)out,  rolling  and  pitching  in  a  heavy 
sea,  he  cried:  "Call  up  the  watch  helow! 
.Ml  hands  on  deck!"  For  nearly  an  hour 
we  watched  the.se  wnite  mountains  which 
had  .so  dangerously  and  une.xpectedly  hlockeii 
our  passage,  then  they  faded  in  the  fog  and 
distance. 

We  had  missed  the  "  jtass."  and  nearly 
gone  to  pieces  on  those  rocks.  .Something 
was  wrong.  Oh.servatioiis  and  reckonings 
were  made  at  noon,  .so  it  was  thought  our 
exact  location  was  known;  and  we  ha<l 
steered  for  I'nimak  |)a.ss.  The  ocean  cur- 
rent .setting  westward  had  lieen  taken  into 
account,  so  the  error  lay  either  in  some  in- 
explicable deviation  (d"  the  compass  or  el.s* 
the  .ship's  chronometer  was  wrong,  thus 
putting  us  off  in  our  longitude. 

.May  iHth,  1 ::'.(»  l-.  M. 

Tall  mountains  covered  with  sonwdrifts 


again  came  into  view  at  nine  o'clock.  These 
were  taken  to  be  I'nalaska  islantl,  .so  we 
made  off  for  an  hour  or  two,  and  th«}n 
steered  northeast,  hoping  to  strike  the  pa.ss. 
I  It  was  .so  foggy  the  altitude  (d*  the  sun  could 
not  be  taken  at  noon,  and  we  don't  know 
•vhere  we  are. 

:!  V.  M. 

We  are  now  sailing  in  full  sight  of  land 
that  we  lake  to  beTigalda  island,  one  of  the 
.\leutian  groujt  that  lies  along  the  .\laskan 
peninsula. 

:i:.SO  1'.  M. 

Sighteci  Igomak  island,  which  gives  us 
our  itearings.  On  the  strait  side  is  a  tow- 
ering l)lulf,  once  seen  always  to  be  remem- 
bered. We  are  steering  boldly  into  the 
pass. 

10  o'clock  I'.  .M. 

We  are  now  within  the  heaillaiids  and 
darkness  gathering  fast,  our  course  we.st  liy 
north,  with  :i  fair  wind,  tlooil  tide,  and  calm 
aea. 

.May  IKth.  :i::i(»  A.  M. 

The  .second  mate  awoke  me  and  1  went  uj» 
on  the  deck  to  see  the  volcano  of  I'ogrum- 
poi.  With  all  canvas  spread  we  were  cut- 
ting the  waters  of  Mering.sea.  The  sun  was 
rising  and  tilled  the  heavens  with  pale  opal 
luminance.  It  came  up  behind  a  low  moun- 
tain range  on  I'nimak  island,  which  is  com- 
posed of  a  series  of  rocky  pinnacles.  High 
above  them  all,  like  the  pyramid  of  Cheops 
lieside  children's  playhou.se.s,  i.solated  and 
lonely,  loomed  the  volcano  of  I'ogrumpoi. 
.About  every  three  minutes  a  cloud  of  bhick 
smoke  slowly  gathered  altout  the  .summit 
and  then  the  wind  would  waft  it  away. 
.After  we  had  enjoyed  this  unwonted  spec- 
tacle for  half  an  hour  a  curtain  of  fog  shut 
oti"  the  view. 

7:ao  v.  m. 

.No  land  in  sight. 

.May  2;tth,  a.  .m. 

Was  Just  awakened  by  a  noise  re.sembling 
crushing  of  bot  ties.  We  are  jia.ssing  through 
an  ice-|»ack  formed  of  small  tloes  which  .seem 
to  be  fast  thawing.  The  sound  is  produced 
liy  the  ice  grating  against  our  (topper  sides. 

•  »  A.  M. 

(In  all  sides  of  us  are  innumerable  ice- 
floes which  project  from  six  inches  to  six 
feet  aliove  the  water.  Thtdr  tops  are  cov- 
ered with  snow.  This  ice  is  formed  in  the 
rivers  and  along  the  shallow  shores,  and 
carried  out  to  .sea  liv  the  tides  and  currents 


I  i 


' 


I  I 


lj^^f^^^^k^:i^ 


mnwu'  (i^^AUmi^*^ 


A    KHIKMll.V    .Al.l.    AT    KlM;(;iMr. 


t  luTf  rcceivinij  fiirthi-r  inert'iiionts  by  frcfz- 
iiijij  spray  and  snow. 

C.  r.  M. 

\\>  have  sletred  a  zip^zan  course  all  day, 
to  avoid  as  much  as  pos-^'lilt'  thcst-  ici- 
masst's.  They  form  nearly  continuous  slrinjjs 
about  live  hundrt-d  yards  wide  and  many 
miles  in  ler.jrth.  A  clear  belt  of  sea  sev- 
eral miles  in  width  intervenes  till  the  next 
strinji.  A^  two  miles  distance  they  remind 
me  of  the  San  .loaijuin  plains  covered  with 
white  ^jreese. 

May  LMst.  C  l'.  M. 

No  more  ice  today.  It  is  bitter  cold,  the 
thermometer  standinji  at  thirty-two  dej^rees. 
Fahrenheit. 

Herinji  sea  is  as  smooth  and  placid  as  an 


inland  lake.  The  water  is  jjreenish  in  hue, 
and  nowhere  exceeds  ninety  fathoms  in 
de|»th,  the  average  depth  being  forty-five 
fathoms.  The  ship  was  hove  to  for  an  hour 
and  we  had  tine  .-^port  catching  codfish. 
Kvery  sailor  and  pa.-*senger  put  out  a  line, 
and  in  a  short  time  the  decks  were  covered 
with  Happing  fish.  \  piece  of  bacon  is  the 
hest  bait,  ".here  is  only  one  feature  to  mar 
your  pleasure.  .\s  you  pull  in  the  line,  which 
has  bet-n  let  down  three  hundrc '  feet,  the 
lower  half  is  covered  with  a  yellow,  slippery 
slim*',  and  your  ]  ids  .soon  become  lacer- 
erated  and  benun    ed  with  the  cold. 

May  22d. 
Heating  around  to  avoid  the  ice  again  to- 
day.    U  is  only  about   fifty  miles  to  Cape 


19S 


OVKULANI)   MONTHLY 


( 'onstantino.  Sht)nltl  tlu-  wind  turn  t'air  will 
make  the  Nushanak  river  ami  cast  anchor 
sometime  tomorrow  afternoon 

May  -IM. 
Sun  shining  i)ri,<j;htly;  sky  clear,  Imt  head 
winds  drive  us  out  of  our  course. 

2:m)  v.  m. 

I'assinji  now  within  ten  miles  of  llajja- 
meister  island.  This  white,  flattened,  rocky 
waste  presents  a  picture  of  indescrihahle 
liesolation.  To  the  southward  lies  Walrus 
island,  from  which  the  snow  has  not  yet 
melteil. 

May  2 1th.  X  .\.  m. 

Again  we  are  crashing  throu^jh  white  ice- 
fields before  a  strong  wind.  The  ship  is 
dismantled  of  nearly  all  her  .sails  to  lessen 
speeil. 

S  I".  \i. 

.\s  far  from  Xushagak  as  three  days  ago. 
Headwinds  and  ice  impede  our  voyage. 
We  are  sailing  in  a  .salt  ])ond  about  four 
miles  in  diameter  surrountied  by  itanks  of 
inipenetral)le  ice.  Wht're  the  jiacks  have 
jammed  together  carried  by  counter  cur- 
rents, enormous  slabs  are  piled  on  top  of 
one  another  like  tombstones.  We  sail  alone 
in  this  little  .sea.  our  wake  tiescribing  .snake- 
tracks  and  figure  eights.  It  will  lie  the 
good  (lod's  luck  if  we  do  not  tie  ourselves 
in  a  knot  which  we  cannot  slip  through.  If 
a  gale  of  wind  should  spring  up  it  would 
drive  th<-  ice  down  upon  u.s,  and  the  old 
Meroni  with  her  cargo  of  human  freight 
would  find  her  last  resting  jilace  at  the 
bottom  of  Bering  .sea. 

May  2<;th.  7::!ti  v.  w. 

Kan  through  a  rift  in  the  ice  last  evening; 
sailing  all  day  with  a  fair  wind  towani 
Hagamei.ster  island,  which  lies  clo.se  to  the 
mainland  of  Alaska.  We  hope  to  sail  east 
by  .south  between  the  shore  and  the  ice- 
l»acks  to  Cajie  Constantine  and  then  enter 
the  N'ushagak  river.  We  are  in  the  same 
position  as  four  ilays  ago  when  driven  ofi' 
by  contrary  winds  and  ice.  .Sighted  Haga- 
meister  island  a  few  minutes  ago.  Sun  sets 
at  .S:4r)  toilay.  but  the  twilight  is  long,  last- 
ing beyond  1():.'{0  r.  M. 

s ::'.()  A.  \i. 

Two  more  of  the  .salmon  packing  Meet 
bound  for  Bristol  Bay  district  are  cbt.se  by 
us.  sailing  on  the  .same  tack.  Ice  on  the 
east  again  shuts  us  out  from  Cape  t'onslan- 
tine. 


May  L'Sth. 

Today  is  exactly  like  vesterdav. 

.\iay  2!»th. 

.\  high  wind  just  sprang  up.  and  the 
.Merom  is  throwing  ot!"  the  foam  like  a  race- 
horse. .\  thick  f(»g  exists,  caused  by  the 
air  becoming  warmer  (forty-five  degrees. 
Fahrenheit),  blowing  over  the  frozen  fioes. 
\  moment  ago  we  plunged  by  the  schooner 
Lewis,  beam  to  beam.  Her  sailors  blew  a 
hoarse  horn  the  only  human  .sound  we 
have  heard  in  thirty-nine  days  beside  those 
made  on  our  bark. 

Since  headway  on  our  course  cannot  be 
made,  the  main  concern  is  to  avoid  collision 
with  one  of  the  other  ships  and  to  kee|)safe 
from  being  crushed  and  sunk  in  the  ice.  In 
this  far-olf  unfretiuenlerl  sea  a  collis  >n  is 
more  to  be  dreaded  than  even  tire  the 
two  most  appalling  cries  that  could  ring  out 
on  the  dock  of  a  doomed  shij*.  The  cap- 
tain poured  out  a  pint  of  castor  oil  into  an 
old  rusty  fog-horn  which  works  with  a 
piston.  At  half  minute  intervals  all  night 
a  sailor  on  the  forecastle  deck  pumjied  out 
long  thunderous  wails. 

May  M()th.;{  v.  M. 

In  a  thick  fog  we  spoke  the  bark  Kenny 
at  fifty  yards  distance.  She  had  run  up 
against  an  ice  field  and  then  gone  off.  We 
l)lunged  into  it  past  the  Kenny,  but  had  not 
proceeded  two  hundred  yards  before  we 
were  bumping  against  icebergs  ten  to  fif- 
teen feel  from  top  to  bottimi.  Soon  the 
ice  became  a  solid  ma.s.s,  and  it  was  a  matter 
of  life  and  death  to  extricate  ourselves. 
Kvery  minute  the  old  ship  creaked  and 
treml>led  as  if  her  ribs  were  being  knocked 
in,  and  the  splinters  flew  w';ile  we  crashed 
into  large  mas.ses  of  ice.  .some  ef  them  two 
humlr-'d  feel  long.  Nearly  all  the  sails 
were  taken  in  to  slacken  s|>eed.  We 
worked  our  way  slowly  ami  tediously  and 
finallv  got  out  of  the  dangerous  situation. 

'.»::{(>  p.  M. 

.\m  writing  without  aid  of  artificial  light. 
Still  steering  a  iK'vious  way  among  the  ice- 
bergs. Thermometer  has  been  at  the  freez- 
ing point  all  day.  Our  ship  look.>'.  like  a 
Santa  Claus  outfit.  The  dense  fog  blowing 
through  the  shrouils  and  rigging  is  frozen 
white  and  presents  the  appearance  of  Itits 
of  cotton  stuck  on  everywhere.  T\v'  heavy, 
damj)  .sails  are  frozen  stiff  and  crai  kle  and 
rasp  as  they  are  hoisted  by  the  iiu-n  hauling 
the  halyards. 


1 


■■T  If  w  ■  ttm 


I 


■  'il 


A  Still  Hunt 


20() 


OVKULAND   M()\TIII,Y 


KSKIMo   WIKK   (IK   (iKHMW    TKAri'EK    AT 
K.WOOI.IK 

May  :nst. 

This  morninj;  w*-  ari'  stuck  fast  in  the 
ice.  At  7. A.M.  (».  yiad  sound!  we  heard 
V  ''team  whistle,  and  .soon  the  little  steamer 
Hattie  (iajje  (my  friend,  ('a{(tain  .Nelson, 
commander)  lay  alonfj  side  of  us.  The 
steamer  took  us  in  t(tw  up  the  river.  We 
mi^ht  have  lain  in  the  ice  two  or  three 
weeks  in  helpless  jieril  were  it  not  for  tliis 
timely  aid. 

The  steam  tender  left  us  clear  of  ice  in 
the  mouth  of  .Nushajjak  river,  and  started 
hack  to  tow  the  other  vessels  in.  We 
dropjied  anchor  for  the  nijjht  in  twelve 
fathoms  of  water. 

.June  2d,  10  a.  m. 

It  is  a  wonderful  morninj,',  the  air  is 
redolent  with  stimulatinj;  ozone,  and  the 
.sun  shines  warm,  with  thermometer  at  .sev- 
enty-two deffrees,  Fahrenheit. 

The  low  river  lianks  on  either  side  of  us 
four  miles  away  are  fringed  with  ruffles  of 
broken  ice.  The  hij^h  rutjjjed  hills  to  the 
northwest  are  streaked  with  meltin^  snow- 
drifts in  the  ravines  and  sunless  slopes; 
while  the  ridj^es  and  projecting;  peaks  stand 
out  gray  and  barren. 

Were  there  only  a  forest  with  ^jreen  foli- 


Hge  it  would  be  an  ideal  picnic  time  and 
place,  the  sunshine  is  so  warm,  the  winti 
HO  s(dt  and  mild.  This  is  written  on  deck 
in  my  shirt  sleeves. 

We  sailed  up  the  river  opposite  to  the 
cannery  jit  the  native  village  of  Kanulik 
(.sometimes  calletl  Carmel  by  the  Moravian 
missionaries  I  and  dropped  penianent  an- 
ch(.r. 

About  three  hundred  yards  away,  al)ove 
the  high  yellow  river  bank,  surroundeil  by 
a  crowil  of  natives  and  a  |»ack  of  howling 
dogs,  stood  Ueverend  .lojin  Tchokert.  the 
missionary.  .\s  we  came  in  sight  he  hoisted 
the  .\merican  flag  and  fired  a  .salute. 

In  a  few  minutes  dozens  of  natives  canie 
|iaddling  out  to  us  in  their  kyaks  and  bi- 
darkas.  .\s  they  .sat  in  their  .skin  boats 
watching  us  it  was  curious  to  .see  them 
smile  and  hear  them  call  out:  "Che  meel 
Che  meel"     This  is  their  salutation. 

These  natives  are  short  in  stature,  aver- 
aging five  feet.  They  have  the  racial  char- 
acteristics »d'  the  .Mongol,  straight,  black. 
coar.se  hair,  retreating  forehead,  black  or 
brown  eyes  with  the  outer  angles  t-levated. 
high  cheek  bones,  and  dark  smctky-yellow 
complexion,  which  is  doubtless  nioditied  liy 
tlie  ciimale  and  their  habit  of  life. 

They  are  a  simjile.  trustful,  honest,  moral, 
and  trulli-ttdling  people.  Kachof  the  young 
men  is  married  to  :i  single  wife.  They 
have  but  a  small  progeny  one  to  tive 
children,  i'rostituticm  among  the  women  is 
almost  unknown.  .\  few  white  men  who 
live  here  have  taken  native  wives. 

Tliey  are  never  so  happy  as  when  giving 
succor  to  a  white  man  in  ilanger,  who.  in 
return,  browleits,  swindles,  and  endeavors 
to  contaminate  them,  and  even  strikes  down 
tile  hand  whose  skill,  perhajis.  has  saved 
him  from  death  in  the  treacherous  rivers, 
maybe  from  starvation,  or  guided  him 
through  the  trackless  snow  to  shelter  and 
life.  It  is  true  they  are  ignorant  (d'  our 
civilization.  They  have  no  luxuries  no 
telegraphs,  r.o  steamboats  and  railroad.s.  no 
great  cities,  no  factories,  no  churches  (ex- 
cept of  late  years  those  managed  by  Uus- 
sian  jiriesis  and  missionaries!,  no  colleges, 
no  news])aper.s,  no  books.  They  also  have 
no  mortgages,  no  landlords,  no  ti-nement 
hou.«es.  IK)  sweat-shops,  no  in.s.ane  a.sylums, 
no  jieor  houses,  no  tram|)s.  no  usurers,  no 
remorsele>s  combinations   of  capital,  abso- 


h 
it 
c 
s 
() 
n 


»'  and 
wiml 


thf 
inulik 
avian 

an- 


AI.ASKA  HY  I,ANI>  ANI>  SKA 


2()1 


lutely  no  crim*'.  and  hj-ncc  nt»  nt-cfl  for  |u'n- 
itcntiarics.  Their  individual  efforts  jiro- 
cure  rainietil,  food,  and  shelter,  yet  they 
Hhare  readily  with  one  another  should  any 
one  need  help,  not  with  reluctant  and 
nij^tjardly  charity  as  in  alms- houses,  nor 
with  the  lofty  scorn  bestowed  upon  the 
^K'^;^ars  of  modern  civilizati(»n. 

Their    food    is   derived    from    seals   and 
tteliijta  whales,  and  trom  small  tish,  which 


turn  the  stomach  of  a  starving  white  man. 
The  majority  of  the  Kskimos  men  and 
women  alike  wear  a  dress  (jtarka)  made 
of  many  s<piirrel  skins  ( ahout  .seventy) 
jiatched  tojrether,  with  the  tails  and  lejjs 
hanjfint;  in  ta.s.sels  all  (tver  the  garment. 
In  shape  it  is  very  much  like  a  ni^ht  ^f^>\^^rt, 
ri-achini;  lielow  the  knees.  It  has  a  fur 
collar.  The  cap  is  made  of  some  kind  of 
fur.   Their  hoots  are  hand  sewed  from  hair- 


Vll.I.AiiK    AT    I.AKK    KI.AkNAi;AK 


after  drying  without  .>alt  are  placed  in 
roujjh  boxes  (caches)  elevated  from  the 
ground  jiliout  six  feet  to  protect  them  fr.im 
ravenous  doj^s.  The  lio.xesare  covfrcd  with 
moss  and  turf  to  kee|»  out  the  rain.  These 
people  are  fond  of  .silmon  which  are  liurii'd 
whole  (without  removing  the  entrails)  in 
the  frozen  ground,  and  exhuniel  in  the 
winter.  In  appearance  they  look  as  when 
placed  in  the  j,'round.  They  do  not  sn^'  il 
iiad,  hut  the'r  taste  temjits  none  (dher  than 
the    native    palate,      one    mouthful    would 


seal  skin.  A  truthful  description  can  but 
attest  to  their  iincleanlincss  of  person.  The 
raiment  of  stpiirrd  skins  is  worn  without 
chan,ue  until  it  literally  falls  from  their 
bodies.  Still  they  are  not  more  filthy  than 
whites  in  similar  destitution. 

The  villajie  of  Kanulik,  one  of  the  lar- 
gest, and  typical  of  iheni  all,  is  situated  on 
a  low  hill  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Nu- 
shaj^ak,  about  forty  miles  from  the  mouth. 
Hxcept  the  fish  caches  nothinjr  is  visible  of 
the  village  on  the  surface  but  a   slightly 


■^ 


9m 


nVKi:i..VNI>  MONTHLY 


mi-tt'd  miiun<l  with  a  small  ho|t>  altout  two 
l»y  thrt't'  ft'i't  for  the  cntraiu't'  of  a  "  siutw- 
hiiusc."  Yoii  I'aiH'iitcr  tl)i>  hole  upon  yitiir 
hatuls  anil  kni't-s  ami  orawl  alony  a  liorizoii- 
tal  tunnel  finlit  or  itMi  iVet  lon^j.  You 
«u  MiMily  tinil  yourself  in  a  small  outt-r 
chanilicr.  tlu'ti  ^fliilf  aloni;  another  tunnel 
for  the  same  distanee,  when  you  reach  the 
burrow  proper.  This  contains  two  or  tliree 
Htraw-moss  lieds,  a  tire-|tlace  with  ventila- 
tion in  root',  ami  various  articles,  such  as 
rude  cookint;  utensils,  wearing;  apparel. 
toolrt,  spears,  ami  hows  ami  arrows. 

Kach  home  is  the  factory  and  the  store 
hou.se  for  all  needful  iinidements  luid  sup- 
plies to  meet  the  exif^encies  of  existence. 
Every  one  knows  r)r  learns  how  to  make 
clothing.  Itoats,  hows  and  arrows  s|»ears. 
tish-nets,  sleds,  doj;- harness,  etc.  They  are 
ver.-ied  in  woodcraft  wiUi  lis  ihousand  in- 
tricacies, the  paths  ihrouf^h  tiie  endless  for- 
ests ami  frozen  tumira.s,  throu^^h  swam|)s 
and  rivers  with  thtdr  i>erilous  rajdds  and 
waterfalls.  They  know  the  haunts  and 
habits  of  all  animals.  Their  foresi^jht  of 
the  weather-chanjres  and  sudden  storms  is 
iminensely  superior  to  our  y;imcrack  sif^nal 
.service. 

In  variety  and  experience  id'  life,  in  ver- 
.satility  of  knowledije  and  handicraft,  the 
despised  native  is  a  para^jon  of  intellii,'ence 
when  compared  with  the  averajie  working- 
man  with  his  dull,  routine,  humdrum  exist- 
ence. Contrast  the  horizon  of  a  laliorer  in 
a  Massachusetts  shoe  factory,  who  spends 
his  life  in  nailin<j  pe^js  into  the  heel  of  a 
machine-made  shoe. 

The  bidarkas  are  twelve  to  thirty  feet 
lon<r,  eifjhteen  inches  t.)  two  feet  in  width, 
and  about  sixteen  inches  deep.  They  con- 
tain one  to  three  holes  to  sit  in.  and  are 
made  of  tanned  seal  or  bear  skin  stretched 
like  a  drum  over  a  lij;ht  birch  framework. 
They  are  ideal  in  construction  as  furnishing 
the  least  resistance  to  passajje  Ihrounh 
water.  ( »n  account  of  their  extrenie  nar- 
rowne.ss.  they  are  liable  to  capsize  and  ^o 
to  the  bottom  in  other  than  a  native's  man- 
ajjement;  but  it  is  somethin}^  like  ridintr  a 
bicycle.  when  you  have  learned  to  ride 
you  wonder  how  you  could  onci'  have  been 
.so  clumsy. 

Their  villages  are  invariably  located  on  a 
river  bank,  near  its  mouth  or  else  hi^h  up 
at  the  river's  source  by  a  lake.  Two  con- 
siderations  determine   the    location;    first. 


suitability  for  calchitiu  walru.ses.  whale.s. 
•seals,  and  tish  (salmon,  trout,  and  white- 
tishl.  Second,  proximity  to  l.-irnl  abounding 
in  berries.  The  niosslierry.  a  small  round 
black  berry  urnwiny  in  the  moss,  ripens  in 
the  fall  and  is  then  ;;ood  to  eat.  and  |iro- 
tecteil  by  the  snow  is  >iill  nooil  several 
months  later  when  the  snow  melts.  The 
hucklelierries  are  as  hirtje  as  bijj  gooseber- 
ries an  I  Very  Juicy  and  palatable.  Salmon 
'lerries,  wiiicii  look  like  the  roe  of  salmon, 
only  mui'h  larger,  are  sweet  ami  appeiiziny;. 
Their  little  wild  cranberries  are  didicious. 

The  Kskimos  are  natiiral  ni^ht  prowlers, 
lieiiijr  in  this  respect  like  savage  animals. 
They  are  compelled  to  take  advantane  of 
the  chan>j;in>f  tides  to  do  their  traveling, 
hunting;,  and  tishinu:  hence  they  only  sleep 
when  through  their  work,  day  or  iiii^ht  cut- 
lin;i;  no  tij^ure.  .\nother  reason  for  this 
'inusual  custom  is  the  ;,freat  length  of  days 
in  summer  over  nineteen  hours  on  .hine 
-list  when  the  shortness  of  the  nights 
c  )mpels  sleep  while  the  sun  shines.  In  win- 
ter the  days  are  short  and  nijjhts  lon^j.  and 
.sonielhinfT  must  he  done  in  the  lony,'  dark 
hours.     There  are  no  idlers  amon^r  them. 

<  >nce  every  year,  about  < '  'totyer  L'Oth.  the 
natives  from  many  villaf^es  cont^ret;ate  at 
one  place  for  the  Joyful  "  tjive-away  "  dance 
Kvery  able-bodied  man  brinjjs  .some  of  his 
most  valualde  effects,  as  l)idarkas,  hunting; 
imjdements.  skins,  tish,  or  dothinji,  and  they 
are  all  jxradually  piled  uj*  in  one  heap.  .Men 
and  women  bedeck  themselves  in  barbaric 
•-'JUKery,  bear  claws  alM)ut  their  heads,  lon^ 
hair  collar.s,  and  other  wild  ornaments. 
They  form  a  circle,  sinf^in^  and  wildly  jjes 
ticulatinjf.  and  each  advances  in  turn  into 
the  center  and  piles  his  |)resent  upon  the 
pyramid.  They  vie  with  one  another  in  this 
jjive-away  dance  to  briny;  Mieir  best  eti'ects. 
.U  its  cimclusion  .some  ot  those  who  were 
the  richest  have  ab.solutely  nothinjj  left  but 
the  skiii  upon  their  Itacks. 

Tho.se  amonji;  them  infirm  or  helpless  by 
reason  of  sickness,  ohl  a^e.  or  calamity, 
appropriate  accordin^f  to  their  needs  the 
articles  that  have  l»een  j^iven  away.  Thus, 
yearly,  is  accomplished  that  distribution  of 
life's  tjood  Itiintjs,  amid  overtlowinji  hearts, 
jjeneral  reJoicin<i,  and  no  rej^rets,  which  it 
takes  jfeiieralions  of  mis>rovernnienl  and 
cruelty  to  apjtroximate  in  civilized  (  ".' )  com- 
munities, and  then  only  throutjh  revolution 
and  slaughter. 


>?* 


The  Kskimos  have  no  wonls  sijjnifyiny,-. 
■■  Thank  you."  Kvery  jjonerous  liet^d  is  doin' 
simply  anil  naturally,  without  thoujjht  of 
value  of  service  rendereil,  or  expectation  of 
reward.  Every  one's  door  or  lanler  is  as 
open  to  the  stranjjer  as  one  of  his  own  flesh 
ami  hlood. 

In  the  family  circle  \vhippinj>;  of  children 
or  forcible  restraint  is  r  ikno  vn.     In  an  in- 

sm 


tiniate  acipiaintance  with  more  than  one 
thousand  of  the.se  people,  .seen  under  all  cir- 
cumstances, at  home,  at  play,  and  at  work, 
(of  cour.se  Itarriny;  infants.)  1  have  never 
heanl  a  child  cry.  .No  wron^  is  ever  will- 
fully done  hy  one  to  another;  hence  no  need 
for  penalty  or  puni.shn.ent. 

Neither  do  they  .set  up  one  of  their  num- 
ber as  kinjj,  clothe  him  in  purple  robes,  and 


BBe-^'  ^**- 


204 


OVERLAND  MONTHLY 


encircle  his  head  with  a  crown,  to  lord  it 
over  them.  They  maintain  no  court,  do 
obeisance  to  no  ruler  with  imaginary  divine 
rights  and  superior  wisdom.  It  is  true  that 
in  every  village  there  is  a  man  called  the 
tyok  or  taion,  who  by  virtue  of  high  intel- 
ligence acts  in  an  advisory  capacity.  He 
is  respected  for  his  knowledge  and  better 
judgment,  and  does  what  he  can  to  further 
the  general  interests.  Hvt  this  man  re- 
ceives no  unusual  attentions,  no  compensa- 
tion, and  is  not  elevated  in  rank  or  caste 
by  virtue  of  being  the  taion. 

The  natives  are  subject  to  nearly  all  the 
common  diseases,  barring  nervous  com- 
plaints and  those  of  endemic  character  l)e- 
longing  to  other  zones.  1  found  no  traces, 
however,  of  small-pox.  Tuberculosis  is 
even  more  prevalent  than  in  tem])erate 
zones.  This  is  owing  to  the  cold  ;md  damp- 
ness of  the  climate  necessitating  close 
quarters  in  the  snow-houses,  which  afford 
poor  chance  of  escajjing  infection  from 
tubercle  bacilli.  Syi)hilis  was  introduced 
into  .\anek  in  the  summer  of  iSJt.")  by  a 
white  fisherman.  Two  cases  developed 
while  I  was  there,  one  in  a  man,  the  other 
in  a  woman.  They  are  the  first  authenti- 
cated cases  occurring  north  of  the  peninsula 
among  the  natives  of  .Alaska,  nis  disease, 
if  unchecked  by  the  instrumentality  of 
white  physician.s,  is  destined  to  make  fright- 
ful inroads  with  these  people  even  to 
exterminate  their  race!  1  did  everything 
pos.sible  to  quarantine  the.^^e  ca.><es  and 
hasten  their  cure,  but  any  ])hysician  knows 
that  in  four  months  very  little  can  be  ac- 
comj)lished  in  dealing  with  this  di.sea.se. 
The  shameless  white  scoundrels,  lost  to 
manhood  and  con.science,  who  s])read  this 
poison  can  procure  relief  in  charity  hospi- 
tals upon  returning  to  San  PVancisco;  iiut 
the  innocent  victims  of  their  criminal  lust, 
the  Kskinios,  must  rot  above  the  ground 
unless  further  medical  aid  is  soon  sent. 

Scurvy  is  very  common  in  sjtring.  owing 
to  the  meager.  .semi-starvati(m  diet,  now 
limited  almost  solely  to  fish. 

The  .saddest  feature  in  the  life  of  this 
cheerless  people  is  their  extreme  destitu- 
tion. Their  raiment  is  tattered  .skins. 
Their  food,  little  lietter  than  carritm.  is  .so 
scarce  ihat  many  of  them  perish  every  win 
ter  from  starvation. 

It  is  not  because  they  are  slothful,  indo- 
lent, or   improvident.     Twenty  years  ago, 


their  industry  in  hunting  and  ti.shing  yielded 
them  an  abundance  of  skins  for  clothing 
and  food  suitable  to  this  icy  clime.  The 
life-blood  of  the  Eskimos  with  their  inde- 
pendence and  manhood  has  been  swallowed 
\i\)  by  three  great  corporations  whose  heads 
are  in  San  Francisco. 

.About  fifty  men  have  grown  ^enormously 
rich  to  the  utter  degradation  and  impover- 
ishment of  a  virtuous  and  self-reliant  race. 
.\n  important  food  and  industrial  sujijily, 
the  whale,  has  been  dynamited  out  of  Alas- 
kan waters  by  the  steam-schooners  of  the 
Pacific  Whaling  Company.  The  seals  and 
other  fur-bearing  animals  have  been  prac- 
tically annihilated  on  both  land  and  .sea  by 
the  .Alaska  Fur  and  Commercial  Company. 
This  company,  has  wrought  its  purposes  in 
.Alaska  by  fixing  a  bondage  on  the  natives 
more  galling  and  detestable  than  outright 
slavery,  because  it  disclaims  res|)onsibility 
or  care  for  its  wretched  serfs. 

I'nder  the  guise  of  pre.serving  the  game 
from  (juick  destruction,  and  to  prevent  up- 
risings of  the  natives  against  the  comi)any's 
traders  at  the  various  posts  (they  line  the 
mainland  and  iteninsula  from  Sitka  to  Ber- 
ing straits,  and  extend  ujt  the  many  large 
rivers),  a  law  was  caused  to  be  enacted  at 
Washington  prohibiting  the  sale  of  repeat- 
ing arms  to  the  natives  of  .Alaska.  This 
was  a  ruse  to  keep  outside  parlies  aw;iy, 
and  to  enable  the  traders  themselves  to 
.supply  arms  at  unheard  of  and  almost  fabu- 
lous i»rices.  The  native  was  not  slow  in 
ajtpreciating  the  superiority  of  fire-arms 
over  bows  and  arrows  in  hunting  bears  and 
.seals.  The  method  of  exchaiige  was  as 
follows:  The  rifie  was  .set  upright  on  the 
ground,  stock  down,  and  the  natives  piled 
skins  upon  one  another  Hatwi.se  until  the 
stack  reached  to  the  muzzle.  Thus,  often, 
more  than  eight  or  nine  hudred  dollars 
worth  of  fine  furs  were  ot)tained  for  a  ten- 
dollar  gun. 

There  never  was  any  excuse  for  the  law 
which  gave  opportunity  to  iier]»etrate  this 
shameful  robbery.  In  sjdteof  its  ost^-i.sible 
(lurpo.si'  the  fur-bearing  animals  have  l»e- 
come  almost  extinct.  The  natives  have  ex- 
hibited the  greatest  forbearance  and  looked 
on  in  all  humility  at  the  devastation  this 
com]iany  has  made.  So  far  from  an  up- 
rising against  the  traders  (  whcmi.  Cod 
knows,  they  ought  to  have  annihilated), 
there  has  been  but  one  native   homicide  in 


w> 


'jt: 


j-w  j~A  f^^-vTt^^^^^n^^'mi^ 


■0f«HH 


Iciwed 
lirads 


(.  '  -^  --.-sx-^.,-     -^^ 


thirty  "years  amonjj  a  population  of  many 
thousands,  and  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the 
company's  traders  themselves  supplied  the 
Eskimos  with  guns  better  to  eiiuij)  them  as 
hunters.  The  law  referred  to  has  been  only 
a  flimsy  moscjuito  bar  to  cover  the  unblusli- 
in}^  extortion  practised  by  the  .Vlaska  Fur 
ard  Commercial  ('omp.'.ny.  This  ini(iuitous 
law  ought  to  be  instantly  repealed,  then  the 
natives  can  buy  guns  from  other  parties  for 
what  they  are  worth. 

These  trading  posts  al.sosupjtly  the  natives 
with  cheap-.Iohn  tea,  tobacco,  crackers,  cal- 
ico, and  worthless  gewgaws,  such  as  tin  cru- 
cilixes  and  bra.ss  rings. 

The  poor,  hungry,  half-naked  native  in  his 
craving  for  tea  and  tobacco  (they  dare  not 
madden  him  with  whisky  for  fear  he  will 
turn  upon  them)  has  thus  been  made  the  in- 
strument of  his  own  undoing. 

Inde|)endence  and  plenty  have  been  ex- 
changed for  serfdom  and  squalor  liy  the  de- 
struction of  the  animals  of  this  hind.  In 
the  summer  the  r-ountry  is  covered  with 
high  grass  ami  flowers.  I'nless  ym  go  far 
away  in  the  interior,  you  will  lire  yourself 


wandering  over  the  tundras  and  through  the 
forests  and  never  see  a  vestige  of  life,  ex- 
ce|)t  very  rarely,  a  frightened  ptarmigan. 
.\nd  yet  innumerable  millions  of  dollars 
worth  of  furs  have  been  taken  here.  Not 
long  ago  the  sea.  the  river  banks,  the  lakes, 
tuniiras,  and  mountains,  swarmed  with  seals, 
otters,  foxes,  minx,  bears,  lynx,  martens, 
beavers,  wolverines,  and  wild  reindeer. 

It  is  only  a  matter  of  a  few  years  until 
the  last  food  source  of  the  Eskimos  will  be- 
come ruined  by  the  numerous  salmon  can- 
neries, which  are  now  under  the  control  of 
another  big  corporation  called  the  .Maska 
Packers'  .Association. 

Secretary  !:'eward's  purchase  of  Alaska  in 
1S()."),  for  seven  million  dollars,  has  never 
benefited  the  common  citizens  of  the  I'nited 
.States,  who  were  taxed  to  pay  for  it,  one 
iota.  It  has  enriched  a  few,  however,  - 
the  members  of  three  gigantic  corporations, 
who  have  literally  skinned  the  land  of  most 
all  its  natural  wealth  and  left  nothing  in  re- 
turn that  couhl  in  ;.ny  way  aid  its  develop- 
ment. These  corporations  are  guilty  of  re- 
ilucing  a  happy  and  prosperous  people  to 


.« ^.^  !«■.»•: 


'SR^ 


208 


OVEKLANl)  MONTH  I, Y 


an  extremity  of  destitution  and  misery  un- 
paralleled on  this  planet. 

All  the  legislation  concerning  Alaska  has 
been  at  the  behest  of  the  various  commer- 
cial companies,  not  from  any  recoj^cnition  of 
the  welfare  or  necessities  of  the  native  in- 
habitants. The  Conj^ress  at  Washinf^ton 
has  been  too  careless  and  credulous  in  list- 
eninji  to  the  siren  tongues  of  attorneys 
sent  by  the  corporations  whose  "  commerce  " 
with  the  natives  has  been  carried  on  at  the 
expense  of  nakedness,  hunger,  and  human 
life. 

1  wish  to  make  a  i)lea  in  Itehalf  of  those 
who  are  helpless,  whose  natural  rights  have 
been  outraged,  and  whose  hapjiiness  and 
prosperity  the  government  of  the  I'nited 
States  is  in  honor  bound  to  employ  all  its 
pov.e»*  to  protect  and  promote.  The  many 
exclusive  and  monopolistic  jjrivilegesgranted 
to  the  companies  that  have  so  tiagrantly 
abused  them,  ought  to  be  annulled  The 
Federal  government  ought  not  to  abandon 
its  Eskimo  proteges  to  the  sordid  and  unre- 
strained rapacity  of  the.se  companies. 

Owing  to  the  ditticnity  of  communication, 
the  territorial  government  at  Sitka  on  Roma- 


noff island,  at  the  extreme  .southern  boun- 
dary, knows  no  more  of  what  is  taking  place 
in  the  great  mainland  of  -Alaska  north  of 
the  peninsula,  than  do  the  inhabitants  of 
Vermont.  I'nder  the  policy  of  the  past 
twenty  years  more  than  half  of  the  E.skimo 
poj)ulation  have  perished  from  cold  and 
starvation.  In  this  article  I  have  only  hintei! 
here  and  there  at  the  rapine  that  has  char- 
acterized "  government "  by  the  trading  com- 
panies. 

Should  President  .McKinley  appoint  a 
competent  commission  to  investigate  things 
in  northern  Ala.^ka,  their  report  would  be 
the  blackest  and  most  sorrowful  record  that 
has  been  written  in  modern  times.  .\t  the 
end  of  a  long  tale  of  unsjieakable  wrong 
and  outrage,  they  would  tell  of  the  decay- 
ing vestiges  of  hundreds  of  formerly  pros- 
perous villages,  de.serted  now,  and  marked 
only  by  Oreek  Catholic  crosses  above  the 
graves. 

Let  our  government  fulfil  the  moral  ob- 
ligation to  extend  its  sheltering  and  pro- 
tecting arms  over  these  wild  but  beautiful- 
nat'ired  people. 


JESSIE 


Mv   ISADOUE  MAKER 


KVER.M,  years  ago  there  n\\- 
\lj^  jjeared  in  a  leading  magazine 
^^^  an  article  entitled  ".A  Study 
of  Calvin."  It  would  be 
interesting  to  know  how 
many  orthodox  souls  were 
di.sapitointed  at  finding  no 
new  light  on  controversial 
history  in  the  fact  that  Calvin  was  a  cat 
once  owned  by  Mrs.  Stowe.  He  walked 
into  her  house  one  day  out  of  the  great  un- 
known and  .seemed  to  be  as  much  at  home 
as  if  he  had  always  been  a  friend  of  the 
family.  He  appeared  to  have  artistic  and 
literary  taste.s,  and  it  was  as  if  he  had  in- 
quired at  the  door  if  that  were  the  residence 
of  the  author  of   Incle  Torn's  Cabin,  and 


upon  being  assured  that  it  was,  had  decided 
to  dwell  there,  .\fter  Mrs.  Stowe  made  her 
winter  home  in  Florida,  Calvin  spent  many 
years  in  the  home  of  Mr.  Charles  Dudley 
Warner,  and  exhibited  .so  many  remarkable 
traits  of  character  that  the  genial  author 
sent  a  "  Study  '"  of  him  to  the  <  'inhiri/  mag- 
azine. 

In  like  manner,  the  heroine  of  the  pres- 
ent story  is  not  of  the  conventional  type, 
but  is  simply  a  fox-terrier  that  belonged  to 
Mr.  Eugene  Field  and  was  given  to  him  by 
the  husband  of  .le.-(sie  I'artlett  Dav's,  the 
singer.  So  fond  was  the  jioet  of  this  partic- 
ular pet,  that  when  .lessie  was  lost,  strayed, 
or  stolen,  he  was  incon.^^olable.  .lessie  was 
ca|tricious  and  hail  a  jmipensity  for  di.sap- 


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j^j^piwrT™?^ 


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